Which Job Seekers Are Most Engaged Online?

Finding top talent in the uber-competitive job market isn’t as easy as it’s cracked up to be. With a dearth of qualified candidates that are actively seeking employment opportunities, successful recruiters need to think outside the box to facilitate employment connections made in heaven.

In days past, this may have been as easy as flooding every known channel with a simple job listing and invitation to call. Who has time for that, literally, anymore though? One of the threshold considerations to help streamline and maximize the impact of your job listing is identifying the platform and method of communication. Should you cold call or put a listing in the old classifieds? How about the internet? And which platforms should you focus on? Here we launch into considerations for those in the staffing business when it comes to job seekers and online engagement.

Consider the Target Audience

The first step to determining the correct method and platform for your initial search and the broad sweeping listing should be the field and experience level of the position you’re hiring. As a general rule of thumb, we at Simply Hired see more introductory or lower specialty skill jobs filled online. In need of servers, retail clerks or intro level call center staffers? Resume hosting sites will definitely be the way to go. Many looking to start out careers in these positions aren’t knowledgeable of the recruiting process and will typically flock to online google searches. Ensure you’re partnering with a top-notch resume and listing platform with high visibility (such as SimplyHired.com) and let these candidates come to you with keyword targeting.

Different Jobs Need Different Platforms

If you’re staffing manager, executive or other positions requiring a higher level of experience, on the other hand, online may still be a great place to start but you may need to take stock of the platform. Professional careers especially tend to flock to online professional networking sites when attempting to locate the job of their dreams.

Recruiters working in the legal, medical, or finance fields should look into LinkedIn as an option. Professionals with little time tend to think of these sites as their one-stop shop for career advice and advancement. Want to cover all of your bases? Try cross-listing or including a link to your permanently hosted application of job listing directly to LinkedIn job feed or individual newsfeed. Be sure to make it public if the later to ensure the widest reach and the ability to share if a contact wants to pass the opportunity on to a friend.

When All Else Fails, Consider the Personal Approach

Online engagement is definitely an ever-increasing consideration for recruiting professionals. With the exception of certain rural positions, heavy labor, or seasonal work, most job seekers nowadays are online in some respect. This doesn’t mean, however, that all know where to look or even that they should be looking for new job opportunities.

In addition to your posting the job listing on multiple platforms and cross-posting for good measure, successful recruiters and hiring managers may need to make the initial outreach in order to put a perfect job listing in front of a qualified candidate. This doesn’t mean necessarily resorting to cold calls or snail mail. Emails, direct messaging through social media platforms, and paid advertising to sponsor your listings are all viable options to help boost visibility and open up the initial dialog with a job seeker.

As a final piece of advice, consider the individual needs and return of any given job before deciding how many company resources to invest in promotion. Budgetary concerns guide all aspects of business, and hiring isn’t exempt. To learn more about how you can pay for advertising job based on demand, consider recruiting solutions that offer a pay-for-performance model like Simply Hired. Contact us today to learn how we can help fill positions based on these smart spending principles.